


The Things You Say

by sleeplittlechild



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Based on a promo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-13
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-09-17 06:18:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9309209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleeplittlechild/pseuds/sleeplittlechild
Summary: Alec swings by after Magnus and Simon come back from India.





	

Magnus had stopped laughing out loud a while ago, but he still had a smile on his face as he watched Simon struggle with the puzzle box. Camille had always loved being a question hidden in a riddle wrapped in an enigma, so there was little chance that Simon – with his brute strength – would ever be able to open it. But still, it kept the vamp out of Magnus’s hair as he enchanted the potion.

“Magnus?”

Magnus’s head shot up. He felt his heart rise in his chest. Alec sauntered into the lounge, hands rubbing nervously up and down his jeans. “Alexander – so good to see you.”

“Hey Alec.” Simon, twisted up into some strange human pretzel, somehow actually managed to wave at the Shadowhunter.

“Uhm…hi?” Alec looked between the two with his eyebrows raised. Magnus waved his hand as he rose to join Alec’s side. “We went to India in search of Camille.”

“And you came back with a box?”

“Camille loves to be complicated. Annoyingly, so.” Magnus rolled his eyes, but Alec did not smile. He wouldn’t even relax. Magnus fiddled with his rings. Something was wrong.

“Sherbert – my bedroom’s open. Why don’t you go try the bed? Maybe Camille’s little toy will work better if you give it a little TLC.” Magnus sent a wisp of blue magic, leaving a trail into the bedroom.

Simon, in a burst, untangled himself and stood up. It was almost impressive. “There’s so much wrong in that statement that I’m just going to go hide in the bedroom. Magnus’s bedroom. While his boyfriend is here – why can’t I stop talking?”

“I don’t know.” Magnus let out a dramatic sigh, shutting the door behind the vampire. Alec snorted, watching him go. Magnus placed his hand lightly on Alec’s arm. “Well, now that he’s out of earshot…maybe you’ll tell me what’s on your mind?”

“What?”

“You’re different. Something’s going on in that pretty head of yours.” Alec ran a hand through his hair, seemingly self-consciously. Magnus’s shoulders tensed. “What’s wrong?”

Alec looked down. He moved away from Magnus, going towards the balcony but never stepping out fully. Magnus fiddled his rings again, but said nothing.

“We found Jace. We’re going after him.”

“Really? That’s great! Where are we going?”

“We?”

Magnus forced a smile. “You can’t think I’m not going with all of you. Valentine’s going to do whatever he can to stop you from taking Jace and stopping him – you need all the help you can get.”

Alec breathed in deeply. He turned around to face Magnus fully and a shot of ice struck Magnus. The last time he had stood like this before him, Alec was insisting there was no way they could ever be together.

“Magnus…I can’t do this.”

Magnus shoved off the feeling of dread in his chest and stepped forward. He forced himself to ignore Alec’s flinch. “Yes, you can, Alec. You have me, you have Izzy – ”

“No, Magnus. _This… us_.”

That shot of ice felt like a pinprick compared to the blow those words delivered to Magnus.

“I need to be there for my _parabatai_. It’s just…if it wasn’t for… _this_ ,” He gestured between Magnus and himself and Magnus forced himself to not be sick, “I would’ve found Jace that much faster. Valentine wouldn’t have gotten the Cup. I could be doing more for the Clave – doing more for my job.”

Magnus pulled back his hand like he had been burned. He scoffed, no longer teasing. He was insulted. So many words shoved against his mouth, pushing to be spoken. Magnus turned away. He paced and fiddled with his rings and fumed. “So…so, what? You think this was all a mistake?” He snapped. It was the only way he couldn’t cry.

Alec pushed another hand through his hair. “I don’t know. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. I can’t help thinking that…it’s just, just...my brain keeps telling me…”

“What, Alec?” Magnus snapped. And yes, at this point, Magnus realized he was yelling. But no, he wasn’t crying. _He wasn’t_. “What does your great brain tell you?”

Alec breathed in, hands twisting together in front of him. “I would do anything…to take back those thirty seconds.”

The ice. The words. None of that. Hurt more than that. Magnus physically felt the air tear out of him. He reached out to the couch, squeezing the upholstery to balance himself. He bit down at his tongue; Magnus almost thought he could taste blood. Tears stung at the back of his eyes as Magnus glared at the Shadowhunter.

“Would you rather have married Lydia? Had that perfect family with 2.4 kids and a white picket fence? Would it have been better to keep hiding, Alec?” Magnus hissed out the words through clenched teeth. He wanted to cry, so much.

“It probably would've been for the best.” Magnus's eyes widened. "Even if I didn't, kissing... _you_...I should've at least have chosen a Shadowhunter. It would've made more sense than an immortal who's been around the block." Magnus's glared even harder.

He slid to his table of potion ingredients. He dug his hand inside moondust, letting the feeling of a million fairy kisses distract him from ‘Alec’s’ intense stare.

Magnus whipped his hand in a straight line, throwing the moondust at ‘Alec’s’ feet. The dust, like a magnet, jumped to his feet and ‘Alec’s’ glamour fell and burnt, crackled skin flickered in and out of vision. ‘Alec’ screamed but in a voice that _wasn’t_ Alexander Lightwood.

Simon opened the door to Magnus’s bedroom, but Magnus ignored him. His cat eyes glared at the demon and he raised a hand doused in magic at the demon. “I send thee back to the Hell you came from. I return thee to your master - do not return to the plane again. I banish thee, demon – leave.” From the line of moondust, a crack of red fire and blue light opened in the floor. The demon fought against the drag, his glamour completely broken. Magnus clenched his hand. The demon writhed and screamed and cried in agony. “Tell my father of my power.”

Just like that, the demon was gone. All was at it had been before ‘Alec’ showed up.

“What…was that?” Simon cautiously stepped out, wondering if it was safe. “Did…did you just banish Alec?”

Magnus sniffled and wiped away the tears that didn’t exist. He took a few breaths before he spun around. He grabbed his coat and threw Simon his jacket. “No. Somehow who looked like Alec. Which means something bad has happened to the _real_ Alec.”

**Author's Note:**

> Okay...so, I have a thing for the Fear Demon + Asmodeus showing up or being referenced earlier than when we found out in the books. And then I heard that line and this little piece sort of wrote itself in my head. I hope you enjoyed it. I can't wait to find out what the line was for! Yey Context!~


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